The White House declared this week, “The United States can have an orderly, secure and well-managed border.” But simply declaring it – even repeating it nine times – doesn’t make it so.
On the day the Biden administration claimed it has “made considerable progress” in addressing America’s ongoing immigration crisis, a besieged Texas border county revealed that an overloaded migrant center was having to turn people away. Even Hidalgo’s Democratic county judge, who has long supported open-border initiatives, wants relief. Citing rising health and humanitarian concerns, he pleaded with federal officials to stop releasing illegal aliens onto the streets.
A widening chasm between the soothing rhetoric from Washington and the chaos on the border is evident on several fronts. To wit:
- “We continue to deter irregular migration at our Southern border.” In fact, illegal aliens categorized as “inadmissible” under U.S. immigration law are being ushered into the country in large numbers. All unaccompanied minors and many family units are routinely waved through. Beyond them, “gotaways” who elude Border Patrol are conservatively estimated to be entering at a rate of 1,600 a day.
- “We successfully processed over 12,500 people who had been returned to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).” MPP, also known as Remain in Mexico, was scrapped by the administration, swelling the rush to ports of entry.
- “Since fiscal year 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) discretionary budget has grown from $9.9 billion to $15 billion in FY 2021.” These increases all occurred before Joe Biden took office. The White House has no plans to add funding for CBP or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- “The administration is working to improve the expedited removal process at the border to fairly and efficiently determine which individuals have legitimate claims for asylum.” The only expediting is on the asylum side. Biden’s Justice Department has authorized immigration judges to administratively close cases and shut down deportation proceedings. Pro-bono legal services for illegal aliens are expanding.
Also expanding are work visas, with DHS granting 6,000 more H-2B (low-skill) temporary job permits. This is happening as 45 million adult Americans (including immigrants) remain unemployed. How does any of this square with Vice President (and border czar) Kamala Harris’s periodic “don’t come” advice to migrants? Actions speak louder than words.
The White House concludes its defense by denigrating Americans and devaluing U.S. citizenship. “Over the past year, millions of immigrants have risked their health to work side by side with other Americans to perform jobs that are essential to the functioning of the country. They are Americans in every way but on paper.”
While this administration sees mass illegal immigration as a matter of paperwork that needs to be processed, the American people view it far more seriously. A weekly immigration survey consistently shows voters want less, not more immigration – and they expect their president to act accordingly.
Six months of obfuscation and ineptitude at the Oval Office have only confirmed that this president is presiding over a self-made fiasco.